Mello Joy, UL unveil custom-blend coffee

Mello Joy Coffee Company has created a custom-blend Ragin' CajunsTM French Roast Coffee in partnership with the University of Louisiana.

The aromatic coffee is made with Arabica beans grown in Central America and South America. Widely considered to be some of the finest beans in the world, they're roasted and ground in New Orleans by Decatur Street Services and delivered to Mello Joy in Lafayette the same day for immediate packaging.

"We're in love with this custom blend," said Greg Elmore, Mello Joy general manager.

The new coffee was introduced at three Rouses Supermarkets in Lafayette and one in Morgan City, and in Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns Store. The custom blend will be stocked in other retail outlets, including Albertson's, Drug Emporium and Associated Grocers stores, after Feb. 21.

Elmore said the plan is to expand statewide availability in coming months.

"Our goal is to get bigger and bigger. This is a brand we plan to stand behind," Elmore said.

The new coffee joins other consumable products developed in partnership with the University of Louisiana. Others include Louisiana Ragin' CajunsTM Genuine Louisiana Ale; Louisiana Ragin' CajunsTM Genuine Louisiana Lager; Ragin' Red, a blend of spices; and the Ragin' Cajun Burger, which is sold at Sonic Drive-Ins during football season.

The products are licensed through Collegiate Licensing Company. Proceeds from the coffee sales will be used to support the University of Louisiana's academic, research and athletics programs.

Curtis Ball, roast master and manager at Decatur Street Services, collaborated with Louisiana and Mello Joy representatives to come up with its distinctive flavor.

Ball is one of only about 3,500 Q Graders in the world, coffee connoisseurs who have been certified by the non-profit Coffee Quality Institute. The designation requires extensive training, knowledge and industry experience.

Ball, who describes his occupation as akin to that of a sommelier, led a series of cuppings, or coffee tastings, while developing the custom blend. Much like wine, coffee is tested for quality, flavor and aroma by smelling and sipping samples.

An integral part of the process requires letting coffee – brewed to predetermined dark roast specifications – steep for several minutes, or long enough to form a "crust." The term refers to coffee grounds that rise to the top of the liquid. Once the crust is "broken" by jostling the cup, the coffee's aroma is released.

The biggest release of aromas occurs at about four minutes, according to Ball.

He describes Ragin' Cajuns French Roast Coffee as "a dark roast with a lot of body, and a sweetness, a chocolaty flavor."
Courtney Jeffries, assistant director of Creative Services for the University of Louisiana's Office of Communications and Marketing, designed the new coffee's bag. It features a vintage porcelain pot and two cups brimming with coffee.

She painted the original image by dipping a brush into coffee. She rendered contrasting hues on the predominantly brown package using a variety of techniques.

"The bag is like nothing else on the shelves. It looks like the table you grew up sitting around," Elmore said.

Ragin' CajunsTM French Roast Coffee signals the continuation of a partnership between Louisiana and Mello Joy that began in 2014. That's when the Ragin' Cajuns Strong Championship Blend was introduced as a novelty coffee. It celebrated multiple Sun Belt Conference Championships that had been won by University athletic teams.

The championship blend was packaged in a small, commemorative bag that featured the University's colors and its athletics logo. The package was emblazoned with photos of coaches who had guided University teams to recent SBC Championships.

Elmore said the new, custom blend – and the bag that holds it – were produced to occupy a permanent space in the marketplace.

Re: Mello Joy, UL unveil custom-blend coffee

Originally Posted by Turbine

I love the idea of all these "Ragin Cajuns" TM branded items making money for athletics.

I'm fairly certain we lead the country in food and beverage licensed products. That is a huge deal with the amount of turnover involved. That T-shirt might last five years but that six pack is gone by the weekend.

The degree to which coffee beans are roasted is one of the most important factors that determine the taste of the coffee in the cup. Before roasting, green coffee beans are soft, with a fresh "grassy" smell and little or no taste. The coffee roasting process transforms these raw beans into the distinctively aromatic, flavorful, crunchy beans that we recognize as coffee.

Other factors of course enter into the complex equation that determines your coffee's taste. Two coffee varieties, from different countries of origin or grown in different environments, are likely to taste quite different even when roasted to the same level (especially at light to medium roast levels). The age of the coffee, the processing method, the grind, and the brewing method will also affect the taste. But the roast level provides a baseline, a rough guide to the taste you can expect.

The most common way to describe coffee roast levels is by the color of the roasted beans, ranging from light to dark (or extra dark). As coffee beans absorb heat in the roasting process, their color becomes darker. Oils appear on the surface of the beans at higher temperatures. Because coffee beans vary, color is not an especially accurate way of judging a roast. But combined with the typical roasting temperature that yields a particular shade of brown, color is a convenient way to categorize roasting levels.

Roast level preferences are subjective. The roast level you like may depend on where you live. In the United States, folks on the West Coast have traditionally preferred darker roasts than those on the East Coast. Europeans have also favored dark roasts, lending their names to the so-called French, Italian, and Spanish roasts that dominate the darker end of the roasting spectrum.

Roast names and descriptions are not standardized in the coffee industry. Starbucks, for example, uses its Starbucks Roast Spectrum ™ to categorize its coffees within three roast profiles: Starbucks® Blonde Roast ("light-bodied and mellow," like its Veranda Blend™), Starbucks® Medium Roast ("smooth and balanced"), and Starbucks® Dark Roast ("fuller-bodied and bold"). California-based roaster Rogers Family Company, on the other hand, has five roasting levels ranging from medium to extra dark. (Its San Francisco Bay Fog Chaser blend, for example, is a Full City medium roast coffee.)

In general, though, we can categorize the most common coffee roasts from light to dark as follows:

Light Roasts
Light roasts are light brown in color, with a light body and no oil on the surface of the beans. Light roasts have a toasted grain taste and pronounced acidity. The origin flavors of the bean are retained to a greater extent than in darker roasted coffees. Light roasts also retain most of the caffeine from the coffee bean.

Light roasted beans generally reach an internal temperature of 180°C – 205°C (356°F – 401°F). At or around 205°C, the beans pop or crack and expand in size. This is known as the "first crack" (for the "second crack," see below). So a light roast generally means a coffee that has not been roasted beyond the first crack.

Some common roast names within the Light Roast category are Light City, Half City, Cinnamon Roast (roasted to just before first crack), and New England Roast (a popular roast in the northeastern United States, roasted to first crack).

Medium Roasts
Medium roasted coffees are medium brown in color with more body than light roasts. Like the lighter roasts, they have no oil on the bean surfaces. However, medium roasts lack the grainy taste of the light roasts, exhibiting more balanced flavor, aroma, and acidity. Caffeine is somewhat decreased, but there is more caffeine than in darker roasts.

Medium roasts reach internal temperatures between 210°C (410°F) and 220°C (428°F) — between the end of the first crack and just before the beginning of the second crack.

Common roast names within the Medium Roast level include Regular Roast, American Roast (the traditional roast in the eastern United States, roasted to the end of the first crack), City Roast (medium brown, a typical roast throughout the United States), and Breakfast Roast.

Medium-Dark Roasts
Medium-dark roasts have a richer, darker color with some oil beginning to show on the surface of the beans. A medium-dark roast has a heavy body in comparison with the lighter or medium roasts.

The beans are roasted to the beginning or middle of the second crack — about 225°C (437°F) or 230°C (446°F). The flavors and aromas of the roasting process become noticeable, and the taste of the coffee may be somewhat spicy.

Among the most common names for a medium-dark roast are Full-City Roast (roasted to the beginning of the second crack), After Dinner Roast, and Vienna Roast (roasted to the middle of the second crack, sometimes characterized as a dark roast instead).

Dark Roasts
Dark roasted coffees are dark brown in color, like chocolate, or sometimes almost black. They have a sheen of oil on the surface, which is usually evident in the cup when the dark roast coffee is brewed. The coffee's origin flavors are eclipsed by the flavors of the roasting process. The coffee will generally have a bitter and smoky or even burnt taste. The amount of caffeine is substantially decreased.

To reach the level of a dark roast, coffee beans are roasted to an internal temperature of 240°C (464°F) — about the end of the second crack — or beyond. They are seldom roasted to a temperature exceeding 250°C (482°F), at which point the body of the beans is thin and the taste is characterized by flavors of tar and charcoal.

Dark roasts go by many names. As a result, buying a dark roast can be confusing. Some of the more popular designations for a dark roast include French Roast, Italian Roast, Espresso Roast, Continental Roast, New Orleans Roast, and Spanish Roast. Many dark roasts are used for espresso blends.

So there you have it — a short guide to the common coffee roasts from light to dark. To summarize the differences, in addition to the color gradations:

Ultimately, it's all about the taste, the flavor, the aroma. You may prefer a lighter roast in the morning (with more caffeine) and a darker one later in the day. Coffee, including the optimal roast level, is a personal preference. What's yours?

The degree to which coffee beans are roasted is one of the most important factors that determine the taste of the coffee in the cup. Before roasting, green coffee beans are soft, with a fresh "grassy" smell and little or no taste. The coffee roasting process transforms these raw beans into the distinctively aromatic, flavorful, crunchy beans that we recognize as coffee.

Other factors of course enter into the complex equation that determines your coffee's taste. Two coffee varieties, from different countries of origin or grown in different environments, are likely to taste quite different even when roasted to the same level (especially at light to medium roast levels). The age of the coffee, the processing method, the grind, and the brewing method will also affect the taste. But the roast level provides a baseline, a rough guide to the taste you can expect.

The most common way to describe coffee roast levels is by the color of the roasted beans, ranging from light to dark (or extra dark). As coffee beans absorb heat in the roasting process, their color becomes darker. Oils appear on the surface of the beans at higher temperatures. Because coffee beans vary, color is not an especially accurate way of judging a roast. But combined with the typical roasting temperature that yields a particular shade of brown, color is a convenient way to categorize roasting levels.

Roast level preferences are subjective. The roast level you like may depend on where you live. In the United States, folks on the West Coast have traditionally preferred darker roasts than those on the East Coast. Europeans have also favored dark roasts, lending their names to the so-called French, Italian, and Spanish roasts that dominate the darker end of the roasting spectrum.

Roast names and descriptions are not standardized in the coffee industry. Starbucks, for example, uses its Starbucks Roast Spectrum ™ to categorize its coffees within three roast profiles: Starbucks® Blonde Roast ("light-bodied and mellow," like its Veranda Blend™), Starbucks® Medium Roast ("smooth and balanced"), and Starbucks® Dark Roast ("fuller-bodied and bold"). California-based roaster Rogers Family Company, on the other hand, has five roasting levels ranging from medium to extra dark. (Its San Francisco Bay Fog Chaser blend, for example, is a Full City medium roast coffee.)

In general, though, we can categorize the most common coffee roasts from light to dark as follows:

Light Roasts
Light roasts are light brown in color, with a light body and no oil on the surface of the beans. Light roasts have a toasted grain taste and pronounced acidity. The origin flavors of the bean are retained to a greater extent than in darker roasted coffees. Light roasts also retain most of the caffeine from the coffee bean.

Light roasted beans generally reach an internal temperature of 180°C – 205°C (356°F – 401°F). At or around 205°C, the beans pop or crack and expand in size. This is known as the "first crack" (for the "second crack," see below). So a light roast generally means a coffee that has not been roasted beyond the first crack.

Some common roast names within the Light Roast category are Light City, Half City, Cinnamon Roast (roasted to just before first crack), and New England Roast (a popular roast in the northeastern United States, roasted to first crack).

Medium Roasts
Medium roasted coffees are medium brown in color with more body than light roasts. Like the lighter roasts, they have no oil on the bean surfaces. However, medium roasts lack the grainy taste of the light roasts, exhibiting more balanced flavor, aroma, and acidity. Caffeine is somewhat decreased, but there is more caffeine than in darker roasts.

Medium roasts reach internal temperatures between 210°C (410°F) and 220°C (428°F) — between the end of the first crack and just before the beginning of the second crack.

Common roast names within the Medium Roast level include Regular Roast, American Roast (the traditional roast in the eastern United States, roasted to the end of the first crack), City Roast (medium brown, a typical roast throughout the United States), and Breakfast Roast.

Medium-Dark Roasts
Medium-dark roasts have a richer, darker color with some oil beginning to show on the surface of the beans. A medium-dark roast has a heavy body in comparison with the lighter or medium roasts.

The beans are roasted to the beginning or middle of the second crack — about 225°C (437°F) or 230°C (446°F). The flavors and aromas of the roasting process become noticeable, and the taste of the coffee may be somewhat spicy.

Among the most common names for a medium-dark roast are Full-City Roast (roasted to the beginning of the second crack), After Dinner Roast, and Vienna Roast (roasted to the middle of the second crack, sometimes characterized as a dark roast instead).

Dark Roasts
Dark roasted coffees are dark brown in color, like chocolate, or sometimes almost black. They have a sheen of oil on the surface, which is usually evident in the cup when the dark roast coffee is brewed. The coffee's origin flavors are eclipsed by the flavors of the roasting process. The coffee will generally have a bitter and smoky or even burnt taste. The amount of caffeine is substantially decreased.

To reach the level of a dark roast, coffee beans are roasted to an internal temperature of 240°C (464°F) — about the end of the second crack — or beyond. They are seldom roasted to a temperature exceeding 250°C (482°F), at which point the body of the beans is thin and the taste is characterized by flavors of tar and charcoal.

Dark roasts go by many names. As a result, buying a dark roast can be confusing. Some of the more popular designations for a dark roast include French Roast, Italian Roast, Espresso Roast, Continental Roast, New Orleans Roast, and Spanish Roast. Many dark roasts are used for espresso blends.

So there you have it — a short guide to the common coffee roasts from light to dark. To summarize the differences, in addition to the color gradations:

-As coffee roasts get darker, they lose the origin flavors of the beans and take on more flavor from the roasting process.
-The body of the coffee gets heavier, until the second crack, where the body again thins.
-Lighter roasts have more acidity than darker roasts.
-Light roasted beans are dry, while darker roasts develop oil on the bean surface.
-The caffeine level decreases as the roast gets darker.

Ultimately, it's all about the taste, the flavor, the aroma. You may prefer a lighter roast in the morning (with more caffeine) and a darker one later in the day. Coffee, including the optimal roast level, is a personal preference. What's yours?

I tried to clean it up a little but the site won't let me manage it after posting. I'll try it again below.

Coffee Roasts from Light to Dark
By Brian Lokker. Published April 5, 2013, last updated January 4, 2017.

The degree to which coffee beans are roasted is one of the most important factors that determine the taste of the coffee in the cup. Before roasting, green coffee beans are soft, with a fresh "grassy" smell and little or no taste. The coffee roasting process transforms these raw beans into the distinctively aromatic, flavorful, crunchy beans that we recognize as coffee.

Other factors of course enter into the complex equation that determines your coffee's taste. Two coffee varieties, from different countries of origin or grown in different environments, are likely to taste quite different even when roasted to the same level (especially at light to medium roast levels). The age of the coffee, the processing method, the grind, and the brewing method will also affect the taste. But the roast level provides a baseline, a rough guide to the taste you can expect.

The most common way to describe coffee roast levels is by the color of the roasted beans, ranging from light to dark (or extra dark). As coffee beans absorb heat in the roasting process, their color becomes darker. Oils appear on the surface of the beans at higher temperatures. Because coffee beans vary, color is not an especially accurate way of judging a roast. But combined with the typical roasting temperature that yields a particular shade of brown, color is a convenient way to categorize roasting levels.

Roast level preferences are subjective. The roast level you like may depend on where you live. In the United States, folks on the West Coast have traditionally preferred darker roasts than those on the East Coast. Europeans have also favored dark roasts, lending their names to the so-called French, Italian, and Spanish roasts that dominate the darker end of the roasting spectrum.

Roast names and descriptions are not standardized in the coffee industry. Starbucks, for example, uses its Starbucks Roast Spectrum ™ to categorize its coffees within three roast profiles: Starbucks® Blonde Roast ("light-bodied and mellow," like its Veranda Blend™), Starbucks® Medium Roast ("smooth and balanced"), and Starbucks® Dark Roast ("fuller-bodied and bold"). California-based roaster Rogers Family Company, on the other hand, has five roasting levels ranging from medium to extra dark. (Its San Francisco Bay Fog Chaser blend, for example, is a Full City medium roast coffee.)

In general, though, we can categorize the most common coffee roasts from light to dark as follows:

Light Roasts
Light roasts are light brown in color, with a light body and no oil on the surface of the beans. Light roasts have a toasted grain taste and pronounced acidity. The origin flavors of the bean are retained to a greater extent than in darker roasted coffees. Light roasts also retain most of the caffeine from the coffee bean.

Light roasted beans generally reach an internal temperature of 180°C – 205°C (356°F – 401°F). At or around 205°C, the beans pop or crack and expand in size. This is known as the "first crack" (for the "second crack," see below). So a light roast generally means a coffee that has not been roasted beyond the first crack.

Some common roast names within the Light Roast category are Light City, Half City, Cinnamon Roast (roasted to just before first crack), and New England Roast (a popular roast in the northeastern United States, roasted to first crack).

Medium Roasts
Medium roasted coffees are medium brown in color with more body than light roasts. Like the lighter roasts, they have no oil on the bean surfaces. However, medium roasts lack the grainy taste of the light roasts, exhibiting more balanced flavor, aroma, and acidity. Caffeine is somewhat decreased, but there is more caffeine than in darker roasts.

Medium roasts reach internal temperatures between 210°C (410°F) and 220°C (428°F) — between the end of the first crack and just before the beginning of the second crack.

Common roast names within the Medium Roast level include Regular Roast, American Roast (the traditional roast in the eastern United States, roasted to the end of the first crack), City Roast (medium brown, a typical roast throughout the United States), and Breakfast Roast.

Medium-Dark Roasts
Medium-dark roasts have a richer, darker color with some oil beginning to show on the surface of the beans. A medium-dark roast has a heavy body in comparison with the lighter or medium roasts.

The beans are roasted to the beginning or middle of the second crack — about 225°C (437°F) or 230°C (446°F). The flavors and aromas of the roasting process become noticeable, and the taste of the coffee may be somewhat spicy.

Among the most common names for a medium-dark roast are Full-City Roast (roasted to the beginning of the second crack), After Dinner Roast, and Vienna Roast (roasted to the middle of the second crack, sometimes characterized as a dark roast instead).

Dark Roasts
Dark roasted coffees are dark brown in color, like chocolate, or sometimes almost black. They have a sheen of oil on the surface, which is usually evident in the cup when the dark roast coffee is brewed. The coffee's origin flavors are eclipsed by the flavors of the roasting process. The coffee will generally have a bitter and smoky or even burnt taste. The amount of caffeine is substantially decreased.

To reach the level of a dark roast, coffee beans are roasted to an internal temperature of 240°C (464°F) — about the end of the second crack — or beyond. They are seldom roasted to a temperature exceeding 250°C (482°F), at which point the body of the beans is thin and the taste is characterized by flavors of tar and charcoal.

Dark roasts go by many names. As a result, buying a dark roast can be confusing. Some of the more popular designations for a dark roast include French Roast, Italian Roast, Espresso Roast, Continental Roast, New Orleans Roast, and Spanish Roast. Many dark roasts are used for espresso blends.

So there you have it — a short guide to the common coffee roasts from light to dark. To summarize the differences, in addition to the color gradations:

As coffee roasts get darker, they lose the origin flavors of the beans and take on more flavor from the roasting process.
The body of the coffee gets heavier, until the second crack, where the body again thins.
Lighter roasts have more acidity than darker roasts.
Light roasted beans are dry, while darker roasts develop oil on the bean surface.
The caffeine level decreases as the roast gets darker.

Ultimately, it's all about the taste, the flavor, the aroma. You may prefer a lighter roast in the morning (with more caffeine) and a darker one later in the day. Coffee, including the optimal roast level, is a personal preference. What's yours?

Re: Mello Joy, UL unveil custom-blend coffee

Originally Posted by 31Ragin97

can it be ordered through a university website?

I don't know if they will have it via mail order, but they do show it being offered through the Ragin Cajuns Store. I don't see it on their website. Other than that the press release says exclusively Rouses in Lafayette and Morgan City initially and then state wide. One thing I did hear on last nights news was that the university would get 12% of the sales which I think sounds a pretty decent amount.

The new coffee was introduced at three Rouses Supermarkets in Lafayette and one in Morgan City, and in UL Lafayette's Ragin' Cajuns Store. The custom blend will be stocked in other retail outlets, including Albertson's, Drug Emporium and Associated Grocers stores, after Feb. 21.